Abnormality and Normality

Definition of Abnormality and Normality

Abnormality

( According to Morgan & King 1986)

Abnormality is the significant deviation from commonly accepted patterns of behavior, emotion or thought"

Normality

The absence of illness and the presence of state of well being called normality.

Abnormal Psychology is the study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.

Abnormal Psychology studies the nature of psychopathology and its causes, and this knowledge is applied in clinical psychology to treat patients with psychological disorders.

It can be difficult to draw the line between normal and abnormal behaviors. In general, abnormal behaviors must be maladaptive and cause an individual significant discomfort in order to be of clinical and research interest.

According to the DSM-IV-TR, behaviors may be considered abnormal if they are associated with disability, personal distress, the violation of social norms, or dysfunction.

German physician Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological research at Leipzig University in Germany, for which Wundt is known as the "father of psychology".

The American philosopher and psychologist William James published his seminal book, Principles of Psychology in 1890, laying the foundations for many of the questions on which psychologists would focus for years to come.

Other important early contributors to the field include the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), a pioneer in the experimental study of memory at the University of Berlin; and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) who investigated the learning process now referred to as classical conditioning.

Psychological Disorder

Psychological disorders are defined as "the patterns of abnormal behavior, emotions or thought that significantly interfere with an individual to important life demands and often cause distress in the individual or in others".